Posting tray



April 22, 1930. c, c, BENEDICT ET AL 1,755,764

POSTING TRAY Filed Nov. 2; 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 22, 1930. Q QBENEDICT ET AL POSTING TRAY Filed Nov. 2, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E L Ium, W7

"rt en. ons- C T mw Patented Apr. 22, 1930 v UNITEDSTATE s1 SIGNORS TOFL'ACH AND BENEDICT, INC.

- P RATION OF CALIFORNIA curvris 0.. BENEDICT AND HARLEY A; Terms,- OF'Los'ANeELEs, CALIFORNIA; AS-

,' or Los Ane'ELEs-j cArrroimiiiQ Aicoie ros'riive TRAY Applicationfiled Noveiiiber 2, 1927. Serial no. 230,547.

This invention relates to 'ofiice furniture, and more especially to atrayffor holding sheets having' datathereon, to which access.- isfrequently necessary. V Inmany'ofiices, and particularly in those, inwhich machine posting is done, the ac-l counting is carried out by meansv of a large. number of similar sheets, "each being allotted Y to acustomer or client,- and having posted v 10 thereon in columnar "formlis t s of all the debits and credits entered against each client. As anexampleof this procedure, consider; the method of handling ,ba'nkvstatements. Such statements aregenerally filed'gonedge .15 in drawersor trays,; and whenit'is" desired to make u'p'areport of theconditionoflanyi account, or to have access 'tothe data entered u'pon'the various sheets, the operator places the selected tray near theadding-machine or 2 other machine to which he intends applying the"information gained when the desired sheet is located. Usually, thecredit column; and the debit column are both positioned closely adjacentonesideof the sheet, usually the right; and it a purpose of our inven-.tion to provide altray. for such sheets having one side adapted to beopened .to permit a selected sheet tobedisplaced toone s ide of"thepthers contained in the tray, a suflicient distance to enable theoperator to. observe the desired column or columns of data without Iinterference 1 t v Another object of, our inventlonis the pro vision ofaposting tray of the above described nature,,pr-ovided witha'guideto linlt the displacement of the sheets so as to obviate the liability offthesheet being. inadvertently withdrawn from its proper position infrer. Vspect'tothe other sheets within'thetray', the said stop'beingp ivotallymounted on the tray and operatively connected .to the movable sidesojasto 'be automatically returned to its retracted positionthereby,when the side is 7 closed, with the result that the. tray may. bestored'in a space substantiallythe same as that required sign. 7 v 1 IAnother -object is the provision-of a tray. provided with'a pairofsheet-retaining car-l riages one or both *ofwhichr'are movable to 3-"f3'ofjFigure 4i Parts a u e t e ze fisu e, Fig. tie a longitudinalverticalse view of the tray and cover of Figure 3,jthe

'plane'of section beingindioated by the line i vl-.of Figure 3. I 1 95for trays of the customary, dewherein similar reference cl-iaracters.dQSig-iir nate similar' parts throughout, theposting h 1 1 "tray of ourinvention comprises a casinghav ing a bo m 1,1'fr i1t 2,,hack gandsides. 4:."

securely the sheets therebet wee 1r Q the pposin a s? at Wh 1rm y-b rtioned optionally parallel toeach other so as: to clamp the sheetstogether throughout their entire surface or, with their upper edgesfurther apart thanvtheir -lower edges, so that access may be had,tjojthe data'on any sheet. while still clamped tightly in place at, itsbottomedge; i r

A further object isthe' provision-of means for readilygseparating thecarriages to releasejth'e' sheets so as to permit any of them to be,displaced to one side of -the, others becompletely removed therefrom,

lAnother object'i the provision of means. for retaining certain o f'thesheets, e. g.;, sheets liaving' inde-x tabs thereon, after the remainderof the sheetshave been releasd. With theforegoing and other objects in,view whichwill be made manifest in the Ifollowing detaileddescriptionand specifically; pointed out in the appended claims,reference is had to the accompanying'drawings for:

" an; illustrative embodiment of the invention,'

wherein: y l v i Figure 1 is a perspectivevi'ew of the postingtray ofour invention, after the cover has been removed," thelpiv'oted side and;guide rail extended,' 'andwithaset of Idata-Qsheets clamped betweenthefcarriages-fl v Fig. 2"is a perspective view of Figure 1, showing thecarriages in position, tolpermit access fro-the data sheets, one ofobserve whatever columns of data' inight be" upon its right-hand side; 1a w a Fig. 1s a transverse verticaljsjectional'view Referring to the-which is displaced "so that the operator can and 6,.the latter of whichis pivotally mount- 1 ed upon the casing as indicated at 7. A

false bottom 8 spaced from the bottom 1 is also provided in the sameplane as the hinge joint 7 so that when the side 6 is turned to ahorizontal position, the side 6 and the if false bottom 8" will; presenta substantially unbroken'surface. Rigid with the inner face of the side6 and adjacent each of its ends, is a bracket ,9 having anarcuateedge'll extending 'inwards and downwards from the side 6. A foldingguide'rail 12 is pivotally mounted on the front 2 and back 3 of theeasing, and this rail 12 is received within an arcuate slot 13adjacent'the edge '11 ofkthe bracketsii). The proportionate arrangement(if the-parts is such that as the side 6 is ex-' tendedfihegui'cle rail12 is-also extended by the'brackets 9, and sliding longitudinally ofthes-lo'ts '13, assumes a position substantiallytiiety by the referencenumeral 16, andcom} prising a rigid back plate-17, at eache'nd of whichis 'a projecting flange 18 at sub stantiaIIy'QO" therewith. Pivotedtothe forward lower corners of the flanges 18 is a clamp-j ing plate, 19'also provided at each end with anex'te'nding flange 21, the lower edges22 of whichfare relieved top ermit' the clamping plate 19fto1beinclinedbackwardslag'ainst the to of the back plate 17.Meansfo'roptionally.inoving" the ,claiiiping'plate to either ofits-extreme positions, are provided, and Colnprises a locking plate 23hingedpreferably throughout its entirelength to theupper edge a s: ac te T17 a stably ease with theback of the 'clampil'ig plate 19 by means ofa rod 24 ri idly Secured to the upper edgeof the locking plate 23, buthaving' its ends extending therefrom to beengagejd ina pairofyerticalcliann'els 26 secur d to {ch-aback 'o'f theplampingeplate 19,

get-hold for lifting the locking plate 23. f From the above, it is'understood'thatwhen theiockirigplate 2l3 is pressed downwards,-

theelaifipifig plite 19 3 ll be forced to a position substantiallyvertical as best shown in Figure" 1'; and when the; locki g plate 23 islifted, the up erjedgeof the clamping plate lg wil'lj be pu l ed bckwardsa best shown in Figures; slecond-carriage28 similar. to thecarriage 16; is also" positioned within the tray. carriage 2 8 comprisesa back plate plate 311p ivote'd, thereto, and s2 hinged to the backplease m" s1 ingi engageias witt die bark "efth stamp ng-platter The"two carriage 28, is threadedly engaged upon the feedscrew 34 so thatwhenthe screw 34 is'1'o-' tated by means. of the operating handle 38,the carriage 28 ,may be slid baclm'ards or forwards, depending upon thedirection of rotation of the feed screw 34..

-It-is thus seen that a plurality of data 7 sheets 41 may be placedbetween the carriages 16 and; 2s; and then, rotating the feed screw 34in theproper direction, the carriage 28 advanced to securely clampthe'data sheets 41 in position. Now, if it 'be' desiredto have access toany ofthe data sheets 41, the operator has but to lift the lockingplates and 32, swinging the clamping plates 19 and 31 respectively,backwards upon their pivotal mounting, permitting access to the datasheets 41 but stillretfaining' them in position because of their beingsecurely clamped at the bottom. 'If'it be desired to have access tocolumns of data uponlthe side of any of the sheets 41 adjacent thefolding side 6, the operator has but to extend the side 6 as previouslydescribed, pulling the guide rail 12 into operating position. Now, byturning the feed screw 34 a small amount, the carriage 28 can bereceded, releasing the data sheets 41 and permitting any of them to bedisplaced from the rest, either bysliding until stopped by the guiderail 12, or by complete removal from the posting tray. V

'Frequently, it is desirable to have interspersed-among the data sheets41, a set of sheets provided with al'phabetizedorother index tabs 42. Ofcourse, the occasion for removing these sheetsfrom the tray will notarise as frequently as in the case of the other sheets 41. Forthisreason, the index sheets having the tabs 42, are also provided with aretaining tab 43 indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3. Each of thesetabs 43 is provided with an aperture 44 to receive a locking rod 46threaded to the front 2 of the casing and extending parallel to, andadjacent the feedingscrew' 34. When the occasion does arise for theremoval of the index sheets, the locking rod 46 may be withdrawn,releasing-all of theindex sheets.

When the postingv tray is not desired for use, the clamping'plates 19and'31 should be locked vertically, and the data sheets 41 securelyclamped; then,with the side 6 folded back out of: the way, the top 47placed in position over the tray and its contents; The top 47ispreferably provided at its opposite sides with a, shoulder 48 to seatupon the top or the depend flan e 49 extending'dowm wards therefrom toprovide adust-proof seal between the tray andits tops/7.

'It \v'ill be understoodthatvarious changes in the details ofconstruction may be made without departing from-thespirit or scope ofthe invention as, defined the appended claims. i 7 W 6 w; a I a 1. In aposting tray, a cas ng comprlsing a bottom, a. talse bottom and sides,one of said sides beingpiv oted in theplane of the false bottom, a pairof brackets on -said pivoted side, affolding guide rail pivotallymounted on said casing. and engaged by sa-idi brao'kets,

said guide railbeing'adapted to retain the folding side wheneiitendedinthe same plane as the false bottom, .a pair ofopposed car riageswithinthe tray, each ca-rriageicomprismg a back, a sheet-retammg ,platepivotally connected at its lower edge tosald back,.and

locking plate pivotedto the and in; slid ng engagement wlthsaidsheet-retainmg i plate, Wherebythe sheet-retaining plate may optionally:be locked in vertical position or permitted to slant from the othercarriage, one Of said cariaagesbemg fixedin the frontof the tray, andthe other oii said carriages' being mounted for novement'longigtudinallyot' the tray, a feed screwmounted for-rotation between saidbottom and false bottom, a. nut carried by said movable'ear-T ij'iagewithin a slot inf-thetalse bottom and.

threadedlylen'gaged with said feed screw,

side, a i'folding guide rail pivotally mounted on said lcasingandengaged bysaid brackets,

said guide] rail being adapted to retain'the folding'side when extendedin these-me plane as the false bottom, a pair of opposed car riages Wthin the tray, each carriage comprising a back, a sheet-retaining platepivotallyv ,connectedpat itslower edge-to said back, and a locking platepivoted to-the back and in sliding engagement vvith said sheet-retainingplate, whereby the sheet-retaining plate may optionally.beflocked invertical position or permitted to'slant away from'the other carv riage,one "of said carriagesbeing fixed in the I front of-rthe tray, and theother of said carriages being mounted for move'inent longi tudinally ofthetray, a feed screw mountedtor 'rota'tion between said bottom andtalse bottom, a nut carried by said movable riage Within aslot in'thefalse bottom and thisadsaiy" engaged 'v vith said feta) screw,

means for rotatingsaid screma tab-engaging "rod removably secured tosaid tray adjacent said feedscrew, and a cover for said tray.

-: 3, In a posting tray, a casing comprisinga bottom,'-a false bottomand sides, oneof said sides being pivoted in the, plane ofthe Ffals'ebottom, a pairofbracketson said pivoted Side, a folding guide rail.pivo-tallyimounted on said casing andengagedby said brackets,

said vguide rail being adapted to retain the folding side \vhe11eXtended in thefsameplane as the false bottom, apair ofopposed-carriages within the tray,each-carriage coms prising aback,a'sheet-retaining plate pivotally, connectedat lts'lower edgeto saidback 1 anda lockingplate pivoted; to theback and in sliding engagementwith said sheet-retaining plate, whereby thesheet-retainingplateoptionally be locked in vertical position 7orpermitted to slant "away from the other carriage, one. of said carriages being. fixed in the front of the tray, and the. {other ,of saidcarriages beingmounted for movement longitudinally. of the-,tray, afeedserewmounted for rotation bet-Ween said bottom andfalse bottom,alnut carried by said movable carl iage; ithin. a slot in 1 the falsebot-tom :and-

threadedly engaged with said {ieed screw,- means forhrotatingisaidscrew, and atab-engaging vrod removably secured ,to said tray H .I'; 14..In ta posting. tray, a casing-comprising bottom, a false bottom and ;s1des,i one of SZUCl SlClQS being plvotedinthe planeof the adjacentsaid-teed screw.

ta-lse bottom, apair ofbrackets'onisaid pivs oted side, a folding guide;rail pivotally .mountedon said casing and enga'ge'dby said:

bracketspsaid guide rail being adapted-to re tainthe folding side whenextended in "the! ame. p a e asthe se, b t o a M ro- P-fii posedcarriages Within .thefltray eacheare:,

riage comprising a rback ya;sheet-retaining plate nvotally connected atsits lower edge to said back,anda'lmking plate pivoted to the hack andin sliding engagement with said sheet-retaining plate, whereby {the,sheet- 'e-fl taining' plate mayoptionally belooked in, verticalposition or permitted to slant away item the other carriage, one of saidca 'riag es being fixed in thejfrontvof thetray,and'the other. of said.carriagesbeing mounted for.' movement longitudinally of the tray, afeed screw mounted tor rotationbetween said bot; ton and false botto mmt carried bysaid; movablecarriagewithin a slot inthe false botto n andthreadedly engaged with said teed screw, screw.

, 5. In a posting tray, casingicomprising a bottom, a talsebottonnandsides, oiiefof, said sidesbeing pivoted-in the plane of the falsebottom, a pair of brackets on saiclfpiv oted' 'side, ja foldingguide-iiail pivotally mounted on said casing and engagedby sajid andmeans for ,i otating said brackets, said gidde 'ailbeingjadaptedi re;

n the fe t n de. Wheel; sense th same plane as the false bottom, a-pairof op posed carriageswithin the tray, each carr ages compris ng a back,a sheet-retaining plate'pivotallyconnected at its lower edgeto s'aidbaelg and a locking plate pivoted to the backiand n sliding engagementwith said sheetretaining plate, whereby the sheet-retaining plate 'inayoptionally be locked in vei tic'alposition or permitted to slant awayfrom the other carriage, one of said carriages I beingfixed in the frontof the tray,and the retain thefoldin'g side when extended in the talsel'ottom, apair of brackets on saidpivoted side. afolding guide railpivotally mounted on said casing and engaged bysaid brackets, said guiderail beingadapted to same plane as the false bottom,a pair ofopposedcai'riages within the' tray, each cari'iageconip'rising a back, asheet-retaining platepivotallyconnected at its lower edge to said back,and a locking plate 'pivotedto the back andin sliding engagement withsaid sheet-retaining'plate, whereby the sheetsretaining platemay-optionally be locked in vertieal position or permitted to slant awayfrom the othercarriageyone of said carriages being fixed in the front ofthe tray, the other of said carriages being mounted for novementlongitudinally of the tray, and means for rn o ving said last-mentionedcarriage.

7511i a posting trayg a casingcomprising a bottom and sides, one of,said sides being pivoteditlieiieto adjacentthe bot-torn, a pairoffhraekets on-Isaid pivoted side, 'a i'olding gu'iderail pivotallyfmonntod on said casing engaged by said brackets, said guide frailbeingfadapted to'retain' the, folding side whcmentended inithe sameplaneas the beta of ppoeea carriages Within the each carriage comprisingaback, asheet- Ypivotally connected at its die to said'baek, and a;locking plate i pivoted to the hack 'an'din'sliding engageaid laees aseand thread d,

- d'fee scremn eans'forrotat iilli an" heeeem a -i e- W-byzthesheetrretaining plate may optionally e leak d s ti a Positi n-epe i to slant away-from the other carriage, one

.lages d forlmoveinent longitudinally of the I 7 a eed;screw niountedfor rotat en ad h o nofi the tray, a nut carried B111 v si s' fise inihefr ntef the: tray, the other of sa d carriages being" ing said feedscrew to effect movement of said last-mentioned carriage, and atab-engaging rod removably secured to said tray adjacent said'feedscrew. i

8. In a posting tray, a casing comprising a bottom and sidesfone of saidsides being pivoted thereto adjacent the bottom, a pair of brackets on,said pivoted side, a folding guide rail pivotally mounted on saidcasingand engaged by said "brackets, said guide rail being adapted to retainthe folding side when extended i'nrthe same plane as: the false bottom,a pair of opposed carriages within the tray, each carriage comprisingaback,. a sheet-retainingplate pivotally connected at its lower edgeto'said'back, and allocking plate pivoted to theba'ck and. in slidingeni gagement' with said sheeti etaining plate, whereby the sheetretai'ning plate may optionally'be locked invertic'al position orpermitted to slant away from theother carriage, one of saidca'rriagesbeing fixed in the ,front the tray, the other of said carriages beingmounted for movement longitudinally of the tray i mentioned carriage, V

9. In a posting tray, a casing, a pair of carriages therein, eachcomprising a back plate having ofiset portions, a sheet-retaining platepivoted adjacent its lower edge to said offset portions, and a lockingplate rpivoted to one ofsaid plates and insliding engagement with theothe'rof said plates, saidr'locking' plates being adapted to optionallylook their associated sheet-retaining plates in parallelism with eachother, or to release the sheet-re taining plates for movement away fromeach other about their respective pivotal mountings, one of saidcarriages being fixed within .the-casing'and the other of saidvcarriages being' mounted for movement longitudinally of the casing, afeed screw mounted for rotafltionwithin the casing, a nut on saidmovable carriage threade'dly engaged with said feed screw, and means forrotating said screw to effectinoveinent of said last-mentioned carriage;

10. In a posting tray, a pair of carriages,

each comprising a back plate havingoli'set portions,sheet-retainingplate pivoted ad-' ja-cent its'lower-e-dge to saidofisetportions, and a locking plate pivoted 'to one of said plates and insliding engagement with the other of said plates, said locking platesbeing adapted toopti-onally lock saidlsheet-yretaining platesinparallelrelationship to each other or, to" r lease the hee -retainingpla es. r m e e t f om ea h othe bout their respective pivotalmountings.

l- Ina P s ey a as ng a-z a ri e 1nonnt ed forlongitudmal movementwithin said cas ng and comprising a back plate having ofis'et portionsjasheet-retaining plate pibted adjacentitsloweredgefto said Qfisetportions lacking platefpivoted' to one and'means vfor Inpving saidlastriage.

of said plates andin sliding enga gement with the other of said plates,said locking plate being adapted to optionallylock said sheetretainingplate in perpendicularity with the bottom of said casing 01' to releaseit to allow it to be moved to a position in oblique re1ationshipthereto, a nut carried by said 'carriage, a feed screw in threadedengagement with said nut and mounted for rotation Within said casing,and means for-rotating said feed screw to effect movement of said car-'In testnn-ony whereof We have signed our 7 \names to this speclficatlon.

, V CURTIS 0. BENEDICT. 1

HARLEY A. TULLIS. I a

